


The Line Between Good and Evil

by SomeRandomFicWriter



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Blood and Gore, Dark Magic, Dismemberment, F/F, F/M, Monsters, Secret Relationship, Swearing, Swords & Sorcery, Vampire Hunters, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-08-06 15:17:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16390139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomeRandomFicWriter/pseuds/SomeRandomFicWriter
Summary: Two worlds are connected by one gateway, each of it's habitants enter a long lasting war for territory. Two races clash in conflict as they try and control the gate, spilling blood for many years to come. Out of this bloody conflict, few souls looked past the battle and gore and found something that they didn't know existed.





	1. One Night Of Many

**Author's Note:**

> Halloween's coming around the corner soon, time for some spooks!

The sky was fading into a dark purple as the moon began to rise from the horizon. The sound of boots echoed throughout the forest as soldiers dressed in steel marched in a single file line towards the ruins before them. Armor clinks were the only sound made as the army approached the haunting structure, all knowing what was in store for them. Even in this cold evening he felt his palms go sweaty as his grip on his sword tightened, his blue eyes scanning through the soldiers around him as he shook in his chainmail armor. He couldn't help but feel nervous- this was his first time in actual combat, not just against the straw dummies that they provided back at the keep.

He let out a quick breath in hopes that it would calm his nerves. Was he ready enough to fight? He’d heard the tales of these devils of the night from his childhood, about how they killed without mercy and how they dragged their victims back into _their_ world to torture them for entertainment. He nearly jumped out of his armor as he felt someone place their hand on his shoulder, and when he turned around to face them he was greeted with teal eyes.

"Hey, you alright? You're looking pale." An orange-haired girl asked. She had less armor on than him yet she was wielding a war hammer that looked like it was too big for her to carry.

"I-I'm fine, just mentally preparing myself." He replied as he faced back towards the front.

"Alright, just try to stay alive out there." She cautioned as she disappeared into the masses.

After a couple more minutes the army stopped at the base of hill, the ruins of the castle looming over them as the moon began to rise behind it.

"Scouts! Form up!" A male voice barked from behind him, and when he turned around he saw the sergeant march through as the soldiers made way for the orange-haired man. Roman Torchwick was his name- he held a cane in his hand, waving it around as he ordered the troops. Several soldiers broke away from the others and lined up in front of the sergeant- one individual caught his eye as they wore a red cloak as opposed to the others.

They were much smaller than the other scouts, besides wearing a bright red cloak compared to everyone's gray cloaks. Why were they wearing something that stood out so much? Were they from a family that couldn't afford a normal cloak? His thoughts were interrupted as Roman began to shout again.

"Little Red, why are you wearing that cloak? I thought I ask you to switch it back at the castle." He scolded as he stopped in front of the red clad scout.

"And I remember saying I wasn't going to change it." Her voice was quiet yet had a threatening tone behind it. The scouts to the side of her shuffled away as everyone eyed the sergeant to see his reaction.

His eye twitched in irritation as he continued to stare down the small girl, but after a while he let out a sigh and turned towards the rest of the scouts, "You all know what to do- if the undead leeches are there, fire the signal."

"Yes, sir." Every scout excluding the red-clad girl answered as they set out. Before they departed, he heard something unusual as the smaller girl passed next to him. He could've imagined it but he swore he heard rattling chains from her.

"Jaune! Quit slacking off and get to your platoon." Roman ordered as he pointed his cane at him.

"Y-yes, sir!" Jaune replied as he went to search for his battalion.

* * *

 

"Here they come, Sister- don't forget your training." A pale figure stood at the window as moonlight began to enter the room.

"I thought you knew me already- I won't forget." An ebony-haired girl answered as she stepped into the light, her amber eyes glowing in the room as they stared into azure blue.

"I do know you, and that's why I'm reminding you." The white-haired girl said as she approached her, "Even with your skills, you still struggle to kill that _infuriating_ human."

"I could say the same for you, Sister- you still haven't killed that brawler yet, Weiss." The ravenette smirked.

"It's because she's a damn cheat! That insufferable oaf constantly keeps fighting dirty and runs away when I'm about to kill her!" Weiss hissed.

"Not that easy, is it?" Blake said as she looked out the window, her eyes catching onto something in the distance, "Looks like we'll get another opportunity much sooner than I thought."

The pale girl eyed the faunus before she looked out the window, eyes locking onto the familiar shade of red in the distance, "Does she know that she stands out like a beacon when she wears that?"

"Makes it easier for me to find her." The ebony-haired girl answered as she stepped out of the door.

...

The trip to the ruins was much quieter than she’d thought it would be, she mused as she found herself standing in an empty courtyard and carefully eyeing the interior of the ruins. She spotted movement but she couldn't tell if it was wildlife or _them_. Her right hand rested on the grip of her flare gun as she made her way through the keep. Her feet led her to a large hall, several columns lining the room and cobwebs decorating the corners.

"Well, look who it is." A female voice called out from behind her. When she turned around, she saw an ebony-haired girl standing in the center of the hall. She was wearing a white coat with black leather pants. Her coat went all the way down to her knees while the front was open, revealing a black undershirt. There was a pair of cat ears on her head that flicked- amber eyes locked onto silver as they both stood in place.

"Blake Belladonna." The red-clad girl said.

"Ruby Rose." The ravenette followed.

Ruby took her hand off her flare gun and slowly reached for the weapons on her belt. Blake only stood there with a smile on her face, the two not breaking eye contact with each other. A loud crash caught her attention as several figures began to enter the room, each resembling a human but their skin was pale as snow and their eyes were glowing yellow.

"Always with the thralls." The crimsonette muttered as she pulled her kamas from her belt.

"And to you with your gardening tools." The ravenette retorted.

The first thrall charged at the red-clad girl- Ruby brought down her left kama, severing one of its legs. As it was falling forward she swiftly used her other kama to cleanly cut off the head. Black blood splattered against the stone as the corpse hit the ground. Before any of the other thralls had a chance to move, Ruby tossed her weapons in a sideways arc.

Chains were attached to the ends of the handles- she pulled against the metal links, swinging the scythes against the nearest thrall. The blades sunk into its torso and neck before the smaller girl wrenched her kamas from the body, catching them as they returned to her. Three more thralls crawled out from the shadows and lunged at her from different directions.

Ruby held the chains of the kamas as they hung just above the floor, swinging her blades in a crescent arc as she danced along with them. The scythes passed through and minced the thralls into chunks, the kamas sailing in an arc before the crimsonette pulled back and caught them.

"Is that all you got-" The smaller girl was interrupted as Blake appeared at her side from the shadows.

"This is nothing." The faunus said as she grabbed the crimsonette and in an instant they both disappeared into the shadows.

Ruby's flare gun clattered to the ground as the two vanished without a trace.

* * *

 

The first flare went off minutes after the scouts departed and immediately the soldiers began to form up and march towards the ruins. Jaune felt his heart thumping against his chest as they slowly approach the dark structure. Another flare was fired nearby, scaring the blonde haired boy with the sudden bang. Flames began to light up the darkness as the soldiers raised their torches along with their weapons.

"Men, form up!" Roman ordered. The soldiers lined up in rows, all brandishing swords, shields, or spears.

Jaune unsheathed his sword and raised his shield, but when he looked towards the ruins he felt his blood chill as his eyes were focused on top of the castle.

A pale girl stood at the top of the keep, her white hair blowing in the wind as she looked down at them. In her hand was a severed head, which she held by its brown hair. He felt like he was going to hurl as he tore his gaze away from the gruesome sight. As he turned away he saw someone step out from the ranks- she had golden blonde hair and a leather coat with flaps that extended down to her knees.

She wore gauntlets that had crossbows attached at the tops while wearing gloves with a cross lining the knuckles. Her lilac eyes locked onto azure blue as she stepped into the courtyard below the pale girl. The white-haired girl watched her approach and jumped off the top of the keep, disappearing into a cloud of bats before she appearing in front of the blonde girl.

"Brute, are you ready to die?" The pale girl asked as she drew a rapier from her belt.

"Please, I'm not going to die here." The brawler said as she raised her fists.

"Ignore them and press onto the gate, we need to stop them from flooding into our world!" Roman shouted as the two girls began to fight, ice forming around the two as the rest of the soldiers split away and charged at the ruins. Thralls began to crawl from the cracks of the ruins as they approached the gate, a couple soldiers stopping to engage the new enemies while he kept running. Humans and thralls fell like flies as blood spilled onto the cobblestone ground, more Vampires ambushing the soldiers from the shadows as the rest of the men tried to reach the gateway.

Jaune blocked several scratches from the thralls as he tried to keep up with his platoon. More and more soldiers were killed- their blood splattered against the stone walls and the ground, large pools of blood forming on the cobblestone as bodies were scattered everywhere. Just as he was crossing a catwalk, the wall to his left exploded as a large hellhound broke through.

The blonde boy didn't have enough time to comprehend what was happening as the hellhound tackled him, sending both of them off the bridge and into the pits below. He felt the air knocked out of his lungs as he was slammed against the cobblestone, the hound landing a few feet away from him. He struggled to get up as the hellhound was already on its feet and charging at him.

He raised his shield just as the hellhound opened its jaw, teeth scraping against metal as the beast clawed at his armor. He struggled to keep the jaw away from his throat, and he kicked the hound square in the chest and tried crawling away in desperation. The hellhound recovered and reared up to pounce on the blonde soldier until a large hammer slammed against its skull- a loud cracking sound was heard as it exploded into chunks of flesh and blood. Jaune turned towards where the hammer came from and saw the same orange-haired girl from before.

"I told you to try to stay alive." She said as she wiped blood away from her mouth. She was covered in cuts and was bleeding all over her armor.

"A-are you okay?" Jaune shot up immediately and ran over to her- she had been supporting herself with a wall until he wrapped her arm around his neck.

"This is nothing. ey, can you help me grab my hammer?" She asked.

"We should get your wounds cleaned first!" Jaune argued.

"There's no time," the teal-eyed girl grabbed her hammer with her free hand and used the shaft to support her weight, "We have to move, otherwise-"

"Otherwise what?" Another voice joined in from behind them. They both turned around and were greeted with a red-haired woman- she wore a golden ringlet holding her hair and her hair was in a ponytail. She had brown gloves that stretched up to her arms along with a brown corset- a belt hung off her waist with an emblem attached to it. She had a black skirt with a red sash hanging around it, her green eyes glowing in the dark pit as she raised a circular shield and a spear.

"It-it's a- it's a-" Jaune stammered as he took a step back.

"It's a Vampire." The injured girl took a defensive stance as she raised her hammer.

This was bad- with her wounds she probably wouldn't be able to fight back. But what could he do? There was no way in hell that he could kill a hellhound, let alone a Vampire. He glanced at the orange-haired girl once more- she was struggling to stand and couldn't run in her condition. He felt his feet move before he could think, and he raised his sword and shield and stood in between the two.

"Get out of here!" Jaune shouted as he prayed that his voice wouldn't fail him, "I'll buy you some time."

"What are you doing?! You won't stand a chance against her!"

"I have a better chance than you- find help, find anyone, just go!" Jaune stood his ground as the Vampire approached closer- he fought his nerves to stop him from shaking as he watched her take another step closer. He swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat as he tightened his grip on his sword. He will not falter here, not now.

The wounded girl glanced between the two before she began to hobble away, and in the next moment Jaune couldn't hear her footsteps nor her chainmail clinks. He let out a sigh of relief as he focused on the threat before him.

"That was very bold of you to challenge me on your own." The woman said.

"Trust me, I wish I didn’t." Jaune replied.

"Then why did you tell her to leave?"

"She saved my life- I'm only repaying the debt."

"I see. Quite an honorable soul."

The two began to circle each other. Jaune made the first move as he charged, raising his sword as he lunged forward. His sword scratched off her metal shield as she swung her spear to knock him off his feet. His back slammed against the cobblestone floor, and he barely raised his shield in time to block her spear as she brought it down.

He quickly rolled away and stood up to block another strike, his shield making a crude sound as metal scraped against metal. The red-haired woman charged forward and kept gaining ground while Jaune tried to parry each blow. Her spear kept deflecting off his shield yet she struck fast enough that the blonde boy couldn't retaliate.

The green-eyed girl swung her spear in a sideways arc, the tip bouncing off his shield. Using the rebound, she spun on her heel and twirled her spear around her neck. The blonde boy let out a yelp as the spear immediately came back and knocked the shield away. The moment the shield was away, she delivered a sharp kick to his chest- sending him flying flying back.

When Jaune landed, the red-haired woman closed the distance between them. She stood on his sword with her boot as she pointed her spear at his throat, effectively preventing him from moving.

"Checkmate." She stated.

"So it seems." Jaune said meekly. He let out a sigh as he looked up towards his killer, if he had any regrets, one probably would've been not buying enough time for the hammer-wielder to get away. It's funny, really, to die on his  first chance to prove to himself that he wasn't worthless.

"Why are you smiling?" The woman asked as she raised a brow.

"Huh?" Was he smiling? "I-I don't know..."

She continued to stare at him in confusion- out of every duel she fought this was something she have never experienced. He looked unusually calm in this situation but didn't attempt to put up any resistance. Did he accept death?

She shook away the thoughts as she raised her spear, "Farewell, human warrior."

Jaune closed his eyes, waiting for the spear to end his life. He didn't feel anything- he didn't open his eyes nor say a word, assuming that she gave him a quick and painless death. That was until he heard the rattling of chains. He slowly opened his eyes, only to see the Vampire's spear caught by a scythe with its chain wrapped around the spear's shaft. His eyes followed the chain and saw the red-clad girl holding the other end of the chain.

"H-hey! Do you have a death wish or something?! Move!" The crimsonette shouted at him as she struggled to keep the spear from killing him.

Jaune quickly let go of his sword and scrambled away from the Vampire as the red-haired woman focused on the silver-eyed girl.

"So you're the one that Schnee's warned about." The green-eyed woman said as she tried to wrestle her weapon back from the human girl.

"So you’ve discussed me- I'm flattered." She quipped as she swung her other scythe at the Vampire.

The Vampire deflected it using her shield but felt her spear get yanked from her grip- the crimsonette took advantage of the opportunity and retracted her scythes. The red-haired woman's spear clattered to the ground a couple feet away from the two, the hooded girl raising both scythes and took an offensive stance. The Vampire raised her shield, carefully eyeing the human- that was when she noticed two pricks on her neck.

'Blake couldn't finish you off? Just how troublesome is this human?'

Her question went unanswered as the crimson hunter charged forward, swinging her scythes like a bladed storm.

* * *

 

Hours passed before the humans were forced to retreat. Torchwick called the retreat as their losses began to pile up high enough to fill several trenches- everyone that survived was covered in blood, both their enemies and their comrades. The remaining soldiers camped far from the castle, all either bandaging their wounds or counting those who were still alive.

Jaune sat against a nearby tree, scanning through the soldiers for the familiar orange-haired girl or for the red-cloaked girl. He easily spotted the hammer-wielder as she was with one of the medics- she already had her wounds bandaged and was looking somewhat cherry. The blonde boy let out a sigh of relief as he slumped against the log.

"For someone who was about to die, you seem awfully calm." A voice from behind him said.

He immediately shot up and turned towards the voice. What he didn't expect was to see the hooded girl standing there.

“Uh, hi?” Jaune greeted.

“Hello,” The girl replied as she sat next to him, “Was... that your first time out on the field?”

“Y-yes, it was.”

“You did great for your first encounter with a Vampire. Most recruits I’ve seen would turn and run at the sight of them.”

“And you? You seem kind of… young to be fighting.”

“I get that a lot. Although most of the hunters here haven't experienced what I have.” The crimsonette said as she rubbed her neck.

Jaune quickly noticed the two pricks on her neck, but before he could open his mouth the younger girl interrupted him.

“Don’t worry, I'm not one of them. I had the same reaction when I was bitten the first time, but I haven’t changed.” She reassured him.

“But couldn't you turn into a thrall?”

“Yes, I could, but being bitten isn’t the cause if it. Vampires can either raise corpses to become their thralls or... hypnotize human beings to do their bidding.”

“They can hypnotize us?” Jaune asked, slightly scared of hearing the answer.

“Yep.” She replied stoically.

“How do you know all of this?”

“I’d rather not discuss it. Got a name?” The younger girl asked.

“Jaune. My name is Jaune Arc.”

“Ruby, just Ruby. Nice to meet you, Jaune.” Ruby said as she held out her hand.

“Likewise.” Jaune replied as he took the offered hand and shook it, “If you don’t mind me asking, but- how did you escape from being killed?”

“What do you mean?” The silver-eyed girl asked with a brow raised.

“I’ve heard from many people that once you get bitten, you’re dead. They’ll suck the blood from you faster than you can react.”

“Oh, right. They’re not wrong- you’ll feel weak and it’s hard to do anything because you’re low on energy.”

“But how did you make it?”

“I punched them in the jugular.” Ruby answered blatantly.

Jaune’s mouth was wide open as he stared at the younger girl in awe.

“What?” She asked.

“I-it’s nothing.”

“Alright. Well, it was nice talking with you, Jaune,” The hooded girl said as she waved goodbye, “Take care of yourself out there.”

“I’ll try.” He replied, as he watched Ruby disappear into the crowd. Soon after, he looked up towards the shattered moon, watching it set behind the outline of the ruins.


	2. Behind Closed Doors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been awhile huh?

The castle began to quiet down after the earlier assault, Weiss was thankful that they were able to repel the human invaders once again. It felt as they were getting smarter with their approaches each time they tried to invade... at least saving the best soldiers to deal with theirs. Blake gave her a good explanation of how the infuriating young girl managed to escape, she felt bad for her sister but she too had failed to kill the damn blonde girl.

Her ebony-haired sister told her that the scythe wielder had punched her in the gut just as she managed to sink her fangs into her throat, she winced at that detail. It must've been painful to be interrupted like that. She shook her head as she continued down the hallway, her heels echoing off of the stone floor. Weiss needed to give her report to her father about the result of the siege.

When she entered the royal hall, she found her father talking to Winter on his throne. Both were discussing about the injured soldiers or creatures, especially the damages done after the raid.

"Winter, please have Blake oversee the rations again. We need to distribute the blood to the wounded." Jacques said.

"It will be done, father. But what about the other soldiers?" Winter asked.

"If they aren't critically hurt then give them a small portion of the blood. We need to conserve all the blood we have until we're done collecting the human corpses or harvesting the animals in the forest nearby."

"Understood." Winter said with a bow before leaving.

The eldest sister gave a small nod to Weiss as she passed her, who smiled in response.

"Weiss, I believe you have a report?" Jacques questioned.

"Yes father, we killed at least one fifth of their army, the ghouls are collecting their blood as we speak."

"How long will that take?"

"About two days, at most."

"Excellent, now... how have you been?" Jacques asked in a lighter tone.

"I'm fine, father. Just a couple of scratches, nothing else."

"Are you sure? Did you visit the infirmary just in case?"

"Yes father, I have."

The white-haired man let out a sigh of relief, "Good, your mother would've been petrified if you were greatly harmed."

"I know how to take care of myself!" Weiss retorted.

"I'm aware however I can't help but worry for you Weiss."

"If anything you should be concerned about Blake, she got punched in the gut while feeding."

Jacques winced when she mentioned that, "I'll check up on her later, in the mean time- relax. You earned it sweetie."

"Thank you father." Weiss said with a smile as she bowed.

* * *

When vampires had some free time after the raid, some would go out and hunt for food while many others would start the repairs on the castle. This wasn't the case for Pyrrha as she was in the courtyard batting against a wooden dummy that was stuffed with straw. The thought of her losing to the female human soldier fueled her determination for trying to become better so that she would win next time.

However like all of her previous thoughts, she eventually began to think of the human male that fought her before the red-clad girl showed up. There was a huge contrast between the two of them and yet she found herself thinking about him more than the defeat she had. Was it that even though he was defeated, he was still content? Satisfied even- despite his loss or undoubtedly his death. Her train of thought was broken as a familiar voice called out to her.

"How was your first time out in the field. Pyrrha?" Blake asked as she entered the courtyard. Both the vampires donned different outfits from the time of the battle, Blake opted to wear a black shirt with gray leather breeches and boots while Pyrrha wore a white undershirt with pants as she practiced.

"It was... exhilarating at best. Although their soldiers were very weak from what you told me." The red-haired amazon replied, as she struck a wooden dummy with a training spear.

"Were they? I'm sorry for getting your hopes up then."

"No, it's fine. There were a couple people who did put up a fight... and one that nearly bested me."

"Oh, really now?" Blake's ear twitched interest was piqued.

"The one that you warned me about, the one with the red cloak. She's very terrifying to deal with."

"I know what you mean, I still don't know how she uses her weapons like that."

"She nearly skewered me five times when we fought, in a span of several seconds. I still have dents in my shield from her weapon."

The feline let out a small chuckle at that remark, "Well just steer clear of her the next time you see her, otherwise try and call for me."

"I'll keep that in mind in the next attack." Pyrrha said as she landed another solid hit on the dummy.

Blake nodded in response as she made her way to the only tree in the courtyard, sitting at the base of the tree before she pulled out a small book. The peace in the courtyard only continued for a solid minute before the courtyard doors bursted open with a worried white-haired woman emerging from the door.

"Blake! I heard that you were wounded from the battle!" Widow Schnee said as she ran towards the faunus.

"Wha- mother?! Who told you that?" The ebony-haired girl said as she rose up from the tree.

"Don't worry about that, we need to check you out in the infirmary." The white-haired vampire stated as she grabbed Blake by the wrist and dragged her out of the courtyard, with the feline protesting every step of the way.

"Wait Mom! I swear I'm not hurt-" Was all that Pyrrha heard until the door closed.

Pyrrha watched in amusement before she returned to fighting the practice dummy, as if nothing had happened.

* * *

Jaune felt his body ache as he laid down in his cot, after they returned from their attack the captain punished everyone to run several laps around the fort. Many of the soldiers protested about being overworked to death but he stated that anyone who would die from this kind of training shouldn't fight against the vampires again as they would be dead weight.

As a result, he ran about four laps around the fortress without stopping. However there were a few that were exempted from this punishment, mainly the injured and Ruby- who shrugged at his threat and went to her room. When he finished he felt his muscles burn as he crashed onto his cot, letting out a content sigh as he was finished with the torture.

After a great amount of time, he got up from the comforts of his cot and made his way towards the canteen as his stomach demanded him to. The canteen was mostly empty, making it much easier for the blonde boy to pick up a meal. He picked stew and hard bread from the cooks with a tankard of water, just as he turned around he was greeted with a very familiar orange-haired girl with a wide grin on her face.

"Ey! How have you been rookie?" She asked. She was wearing a plain tunic but she covered in bandages across her arms and her forehead.

"Um... I've been better. But what about you? Are you okay to be moving around like this?"

"What? Oh, nah it's nothing really. Should be fine in a couple of days." She replied, "I forgot to ask, but what's your name?"

"I'm Jaune."

"Nice name, I'm Nora. It's nice to meet you again!"

"Likewise," Jaune said nervously, somewhat taken aback from her loudness.

"I mean, you fought against a vampire by yourself. A vampire! And lived to tell the tale!" Nora exclaimed as she pointed at the blonde knight, "Tell me. Now."

"C-can we find somewhere to sit first?" Jaune suggested.

"Fine, but you're still telling me that story." She grumbled as she crossed her arms.

The two settled at a small table in the middle of the canteen, it didn't take long for Jaune to explain the story to Nora- who hung onto each of his words.

"You are so lucky that Red was there to save you." Nora said as she let out a sigh.

"I know, I need to thank her when I see her again."

"Eh, I don't know about that. I mean no one really knows where she goes when we return."

"What do you mean? Doesn't she go to her room?" He said as he furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Not exactly, she does when we arrive but after a couple hours she just disappears."

"Where? Wouldn't she visit the blacksmith or go into town?"

Nora shook her head, "She does weapon maintenance by herself, you know? The twin cycling blades of doom?"

"Wait, she made that? I mean, don't get me wrong but she made those weapons herself?"

"Yeah, she makes a lot of cool shit and gadgets from time to time."

"What about going into town? Surely some of her friends invited out to enjoy themselves, right?"

"Nope, I don't think she talks to anyone else but the commander or higher ups. And those are usually her talking back."

"So wait, Ruby's been alone this entire time?"

"Ruby? Is that her name?" Nora asked.

"Yes, but wait does that actually mean that she's been by herself?"

"Unless she's been seeing someone while she disappears then yes she has been. But the real question is how you know her name. She never told anyone, at least no one here had mentioned it."

"Ruby told me after the fight."

"Did she now? I didn't think that she would be interested in you." Nora said with a wide grin in which Jaune rolled his eyes.

"I don't think she's interested in me. She was just telling me to take care of myself, you know- something you said to me before the raid."

"I kid, I kid. Besides, she seems like the kind of girl that wouldn't settle down with anyone. However I wonder if she's ever going to stop fighting." Nora pondered.

"What do you mean by that?" Jaune asked.

"I enlisted into the ranks three years ago, when I joined she was there- although her death contraptions weren't as deadly as they are now." 

Jaune furrowed his brow.

"Trust me, they weren't as deadly but it still didn't stop her from killing almost everything that moved... aside from that vampire that goes after her."

"Wait, there's a vampire out to get her? What's the history behind that?"

"No one's sure. I believe that they first encountered each other last year and since then they've been going at each other. Heck they both will cut anything that stands between them, and I'm saying this from experience."

"I'm not sure that I want to know what happened to the poor souls that did."

"Took us three hours to identify who they were along with which side they were on, not counting the amount of time that it took to retrieve their pieces."

The blonde boy shuddered at that image, "At least she's on our side. I think she's scarier than the vampire that almost killed me."

"Ditto." Nora said as she nodded her head, "But I'll be honest with you, I'd never thought that we would run into a new vampire like that."

"New? Like she never showed up before?"

"Yep, I was going to report this to the commander but... they were in a really bad mood when I showed up."

"Why?"

"Who knows, although there was another knight beside him who really smelled. Like he hadn't washed himself in weeks or something."

"Yikes, maybe he was the reason why the commander was angry."

"Maybe, but enough worrying about that. I heard that there was a visiting mage coming here in a week or two! Isn't that amazing?"

"A mage? That sounds cool, I wonder what kind of magic they can use." Jaune pondered.

"Oh! Oh! I know!" Nora said in excitement.

Before Jaune can say another word, Nora began to list all the elemental magics that she could remember. The two of them sat there for two hours until the orange-haired hammer wielder was finished.

* * *

The forest was quiet this time around, not that she didn't mind. The shattered moon above provided enough light for her to navigate through the forest. Ruby kept her eyes out as she trekked, unsure if anything would jump out from the shadows to ambush her. Her hands rested on her belt, where her scythes were holstered and hidden underneath her red cloak.

Eventually she found herself at an edge of a cliff, overlooking the vast forest with the outline of the castle towards its fringes. Ruby unstrapped her scythes and quickly examined the blades and tested the chains, satisfied with their condition she took a deep breath before she jumped off the cliff. The night breeze rushed past her as she turned around and tossed one of her scythes at the cliffside, embedding itself into the rocky surface.

The chain yanked her towards the cliffside as she braced for the impact, landing against the rock face. She planted her other scythe into the cliff before she tugged at the one above her, eventually freeing it. From there she kicked off and descended further down the cliff, repeating the process until she was at the base of the cliffside. Ruby let out a sigh of relief as she wrapped up the chains and holstered her weapons.

She continued her journey through the forest, cautiously examining the surrounding area to look out for patrols or wandering vampires. She hid in the branches or in bushes as a couple of patrols passed by her. A small smile crept onto her face as she slipped pass the guards. Ruby then found herself near the cliffside again, climbing up to a nearby ridge- pulling herself up using her scythes.

Ultimately her journey came to an end as she reached her destination, a stone building that she presumed was a chapel at one point in its life. The building was located nearby the castle however it was tucked away in an isolated corner of the forest and somewhat difficult to travel to. Safely out of the marching paths of the army and out of sight from the vampires residing in the castle.

Its stone exterior had vines and vegetation growing on its walls while the building remained intact for the most part. She opened the large wooden door and slipped inside, quietly closing the door behind her. She was greeted with a large room with many stained windows that filled the room with various colors, most of the furniture was rearranged to accommodate her.

A large bed sat towards the back right corner of the room while a table and a couple of chairs sat in the center. A large wooden bench with several cushions on top was to her right while a couple drawers lined up the left side of the room. She made her way towards the drawers and unfastened her belt and left it on top, along with pieces of her leather armor and her red cloak.

Ruby changed out of her gear and into a comfortable tunic and black leggings, she then pulled out a matchbox from the drawers and began lighting the torches that hung against the walls. When she was finished she placed the matchbox back and laid on the bench, letting out a sigh of content as she stared at the ceiling. 

"Isn't this a surprise?" A voice made the crimsonette jump up and search for the source. Ruby saw a figure stand at the wooden door with their hands on their hips and their amber eyes staring back at her. The figure wore a white coat along with black leggings and a sword attached to her belt.

It was Blake, with a slightly amused expression on her face as she strode towards the petite girl. Ruby shot up from the bench and ran towards the feline faunus, as she closed the distance between them the crimsonette leapt and wrapped her arms around Blake's neck- spinning the two of them around. The faunus, who was used to the younger girl's antics, kept her balance as they spun with a small smile on her face.

"Blake!"

"It's great to see you too, Ruby." Blake said as she put her girlfriend down.

"I didn't think that you would be coming today, not that I don't mind." Ruby said as she had a small smile on her face.

"The servants at the castle won't mind me going out, my mother however is a different story."

"Well, you're here now-" The petite girl stated as she rose on her toes to give a chaste kiss on the lips.

"And there's no place I'd rather be." The vampire followed up with a kiss of her own. 

"Awesome," Ruby whispered as she broke away from the ebony-haired girl, "So, are you staying for the night?"

"I don't see why not." Blake said as she hung her coat and left her sword on the drawer.

The crimsonette let out a silent cheer as she made her way towards the drawer.

"What about you Ruby? Isn't your army going to notice that you're missing?" Blake asked.

"Eh, not this time. The captain made it clear that he didn't want to see me until the next raid, plus no one in the castle cares of what I do."

"A part of me doesn't want to know what you did to piss of him off this time." The vampire said in amusement. 

"You sure? Because it involves a huge mess and a knight falling into a horse's dung pile."

"I retract my earlier statement, do tell."

"Sure, but I'll warn you- it's a long story."

"I don't mind, I love the sound of your voice." Blake said as she place a kiss on Ruby's cheek.

"Aww, you do?"

"Yep, your cheers, your laughs," The taller girl took a step forwards and said in a husky voice in Ruby's ear, "Even the sounds you make under the sheets."

Ruby was blushing profoundly as Blake stepped away, earning the vampire a light chuckle.

"You're so cute when you're embarrassed."

"L-lets continue this conversation somewhere more comfortable." Ruby sputtered as she crawled into her bed.

"You know there are more subtle ways to invite me to sleep with you." The ebony-haired girl jested, causing the crimsonette's face to redden once more.

"S-shut up, do you want me to tell you the story or not?" Ruby pouted.

Blake chuckled at the sight before she joined her girlfriend, "Of course, it's just that you're so cute when you're flustered."

"Geez." The crimsonette huffed as she buried her head underneath a pillow.

"I'm sorry Ruby," Blake said as she brushed her hair, "Would you forgive me if I give you a cookie?"

The younger girl peeked out from her pillow, "Really?"

Blake nodded in response, which earned her a wide smile from the crimsonette.

"Your apology is accepted." Ruby stated.

The vampire giggled as she wrapped her arm around the smaller girl, "Now, what was the story behind the knight?"

"Would you believe me if I said I wasn't the one who pushed him?"

Blake raised a brow at her.

"It's true though!" Ruby stated as she recalled the events of how the knight "supposedly" tripped and fell into the stable's dung pit. The two girls were laughing until they both eventually fell asleep, wrapped up in each other's arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boom! Another Update, with more to come in the future! Been busy dealing with school but I passed the toughest hurdle so I have some more time to write!

**Author's Note:**

> Update, something interesting came up regarding one of my stories. I'll be vague about the details until it's done, but until then.


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